Posts Tagged ‘2014’

We hope your plans this season include fun and relaxation, and celebrating with friends and family. We have plenty to celebrate after a productive year on all our projects.

Ringing in the New Year usually comes with a look back at the previous year, and some resolutions for the coming year. Our 2015 resolutions are all lined up in the form of goals for each project, and we’re proud to say that our 2014 accomplishments will give us the boost we need to achieve our 2015 goals.

A little rest and relaxation will help us prepare to keep up the momentum in 2015. For just a few days from December 25 to January 4, our offices will be closed.

As 2014 draws to a close, we’re pleased to say that each of our projects saw great progress this year. The Bus Rapid Transit projects start and end at different times so each has its own construction schedule to match the unique challenges, such as: length of rapidway, complexity of underground work, and landscape and infrastructure features like hills and bridges. As we progress through these challenges we consider them milestones, and after a year of milestones there are plenty of moments to look back on.

On Highway 7 East in Markham, the second stretch of rapidway opened from Highway 404 to South Town Centre Boulevard, and construction will be complete on the last piece to Warden Avenue by the end of 2014, with some finishing touches to add in spring 2015. This final section allows Viva customers to experience the future of rapid transit in York Region, from Bayview Avenue in Richmond Hill to the Downtown Markham development area. Riders are already seeing up to 35% travel time savings on the rapidways.

In Newmarket on Davis Drive, utilities and telecommunications were relocated to prepare for road widening and building the rapidways in the centre of the road. Road widening continued and base-layer paving was also completed in sections along Davis. Significant milestones included: completing the structure of the Keith Bridge and reopening the Tom Taylor Trail, moving the Union Hotel into its final location and installing the steel structures for the first vivastation at Longford/Parkside. The glass canopies will be installed over the winter and the vivastations at Main Street and Southlake Hospital are also underway. It’s been a busy, messy year but crews are working quickly. We’re in the home stretch with the rapidway set to open December 2015.

Along Highway 7 West in Vaughan, the first phase of rapidways is well underway and a there has been a lot of progress in 2014. Between Jane Street and the CN Bridge, work continues on base-layer paving, building retaining walls and expanding the CN Bridge, and we’re almost done relocating some underground infrastructure. East of Jane Street, the road has been widened and traffic has been shifted, so that work in the centre of the road [including paving, installing vivastations platforms and canopies!] can begin in 2015. The contract for phase two of the rapidways in Vaughan will be awarded in 2015, adding dedicated bus lanes and vivastations from Edgeley Boulevard to Pine Valley Drive and from Bowes Road to Yonge Street [in blue on map]. While some pre-construction activities are already underway, construction is expected to begin in late 2015/early 2016.

On Yonge Street in Richmond Hill and Newmarket, the contractor is working to finalize the rapidway design and construction schedule. Meanwhile, crews are out conducting surveys and utility investigations to make sure we have an accurate record of what’s above and below the ground.

We’re also building a state-of-the-art Operations, Maintenance and Storage Facility in Richmond Hill to act as a ‘home base’ for transit. This nine-acre, 481,679 square foot facility will be LEED® certified [Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design], and is scheduled to be complete mid-2015.

Everyone’s busy making memories during the holidays, but we hope that you’ll have a few moments to see some of our videos that give you a sneak peak at rapid transit in York Region:

It’s an exciting time as the transformation of Davis Drive has made significant progress and is starting to be seen along the corridor.

A lot of progress above ground was made this year and a number of milestones were achieved, all of which clears the way for 2015 and the last year of construction. We thank you for bearing with us through the mess and as we work hard to finish as quickly as possible.

Standing at Yonge and Davis, you can look down Davis Drive and see the installation of boulevards and planters. As you travel to your destination you’ll notice the decorative planters along with interlocking paving stones and concrete sidewalks in areas from Yonge Street to Longford/Parkside Drive.

Construction of the vivastation at Parkside/Longford and Davis is making great progress. The steel structure for the vivastation is in place and the glass for the canopies will be arriving soon.

Construction of two more vivastations at Main and Southlake Hospital are also underway.

The structure of the Keith Bridge has been rebuilt and the Tom Taylor Trail has been restored to its original location under Keith Bridge; which is located just past the GO train station.

VivaNext will be moving to the next phase of rapidway construction where station platforms, canopies and eventually rapid transit bus lanes will be built in the centre of the road. As a result, there will be permanent changes to how motorists use intersections, traffic lanes and access businesses along Davis. New traffic signals have been installed at Yonge, George and Barbara. Drivers can now make dedicated left-turns and U-turns where U-turn permitted signs are posted. From our experience on Highway 7, these new movements help the traffic flow smoother. For more information on these important changes please visit vivanext.com

We captured a number of these accomplishments on video and condensed them into a short clip for your viewing pleasure. The investment in modernizing our roads and revitalizing Newmarket’s infrastructure will go a long way to making sure Davis Drive is built on a solid foundation that will serve the growing needs of Newmarket for many decades to come. We look forward to the rapidway opening in 2015 and bringing Viva service to Davis Drive.

Construction is well underway for the first phase of vivaNext rapidways in the City of Vaughan, and the transformation can be seen along Highway 7 West. Check out our latest video for an up-close look at the milestones we’ve accomplished this year. Although construction will continue throughout the winter months from Edgeley Boulevard to Bowes Road, here’s an update on the progress made in 2014:

Traffic has been shifted east of Jane Street to its final configuration, so that work in the centre of the road [including platforms and canopies] can begin in 2015.

As part of the 8-metre expansion of the Canadian National Railway [CN] MacMillan Bridge, we poured over 800 tonnes of concrete to create new columns and bridge pier caps.

Road widening is completed and base-layer paving is 90% finished between Jane Street and the CN Bridge. Paving activities will continue in 2015.

In order to preserve the existing Black Creek and Hillside Culverts, retaining walls were built. In total, five retaining walls have been completed along the corridor with a few more set to get started in 2015.

Important traffic and pedestrian changes can be seen at several intersections. Motorists are benefiting from new turning movements and pedestrians now have two-stage crossings.

We know construction can be messy and disruptive at times, and we thank you for your patience and understanding as we continue the transformation. For up-to-date information on construction progress and activities, visit http://www.vivanext.com/hwy7progress.